Buckle bander



Jan. 4, 1966 o. c. YOUNG 3,226,812

BUCKLE BANDER Filed July 2. 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

OTIS CECIL YOUNG 0. c. YOUNG BUCKLE BANDER Jan. 4, 1966 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 2, 1964 OTIS CECIL YOUNG INVENTOR.

Jan. 4, 1966 o. c. IOUNG 2 3,226,812

BUCKLE BANDER Filed July 2, 1964 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 7

20 M I fi' v a I E 32 j 8 FIG. 4

OTIS CECIL YOUNG INVENTOR.

Jan. 4, 1966 Filed July 2, 1964 FIG. 6

O. C. YQUNG BUCKLE BANDER 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG.5

OTIS CEO I L YOUNG INVENTOR.

3,226,812 Patented Jan. 4, 1966 United States Patent Ofiice 3,226,812 BUCKLE BANDER V, Otis Cecil Young, 1307 E. 42nd St., Lubbock, Tex.

Filed July 2, 1964, Ser. No. 379,819

6 Claims. (Cl. 29-211) This invention relates to a semiautomatic machine for attaching metal bands to metal buckles which are used in tying out bales of cotton. a

In the processing of cotton, the lint cotton is compressed and bound into bales. Metal bands or straps (called ties in the trade) are used to contain the cotton in the bale and to strapthe cotton to maintain it in compression. The ends of the. bands are connected by buckles.

An object of this invention is to provide a machine for attaching by bending and clinching the tie or band to the buckle before the band is applied to the bale of cotton.

Further objects arev to achieve the above with a device that is sturdy, compact, durable, simple, and reliable, yet inexpensive and easy to manufacture and operate.

The specific nature of the invention as well as other objects, uses, and advantages thereof will clearly appear from the following description and from the accompanying drawing, the different views of which are not to the same scale, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective of a buckle with a band clinched thereto as is produced by this machine.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the assembled machine with the parts shown in the position they occupy at the beginning of the cycle.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 3--3 of FIG. 2 and line 3-3 of FIG. with the parts shown in the position they occupy'at the beginning of the cycle. a

FIG. 4 is a bottom subassembly view with the parts shown in the position they occupy at the beginning of the cycle showing the air cylinder, the power shaft, and the bell crank, but not showing the other material attached to the bottom of the anvil plate which is shown in FIGS. 5, 6, and 7. p i l FIG. 5 is a bottom subassembly view showing the material attached to the bottom of the anvil plate with the .parts shown in the position they occupy at the beginning of the cycle.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 with the parts shown in the position they occupy midway through the power stroke.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 5 with the parts shown in the position they occupy midway through the return stroke.

Referring particularly to FIG. 1, metal buckle .10 has a metal band 12 extending through a slot in the buckle and the band bent and clinched around a portion of the buckle 10. The purpose of this machine is to band and clinch the band 12 to the buckle as shown.

The machine includes horizontal anvil plate 14 with two vertical side plates 16 and 18 bolted to it (FIGS. 2 and 3). The side plates 16 and 18 form a stand for the anvil plate 14 and also form a frame for various parts of the machine. Horizontal power shaft 20 is journalled in bearings 22 which are boltedto side plates 16 and 18. The shaft has three crank armsQpowerfcrank arm 24, hammer crank arm 26 and connecting crank arm 28 attached to it.

Power cylinder" 30 is connected to cross plate 32 which is welded to the side plates 16 and 18. (FIGS. 3 and 4). Stiifener plate 33 extends from one side plate 16 to the other side plate 18 at right angles to the cross plate 32 and adds rigidity to the cross plate 32. Power rod 34 (which is adjustable in length) from the power cylinder 30 is pivoted to the power crank arm 24. The power cylinder 30 is a source of power for oscillating the shaft 20 or rotating it in one direction. The power cylinder is actuated by air from air valve 36 attached to one corner of; the anvil plate 14. The air valve 36 interconnect by tube 37 the power cylinder 30 to a source of compressed air. The power cylinder 30 is a well known type as may be seen in U.S. Patent No. 2,724,410. When the valve 36 is opened, the compressed air will force the power rod 34 outward and this is the power stroke.

Two tension return springs 38 extend from wrist pin 40 to cross strut 42 which extends from one side plate 16 to the other 18. The wrist pin 40 is-journalled through holes in the end of the hammer crank arm 26. The return springs 38 rotate shaft 20 in the opposite direction to which it is rotated by the actuation of the power cylinder 30. Rotation of the shaft 20 in the direction it is rotated by the return springs 38 (counterclockwise in FIG. 3) is referred to as the return stroke.

Hammer 44 is pivoted to the hammer crank arm 26 by the wrist pin 40. Guide pins 46 extend from either side of the hammer 44 and fit in slots 48 of slotted guide plates 50, which are bolted to the anvil plate 14. The slotted guide plates 50 are parallel'to the side plates 16 and 18. As seen in FIG. 3, the slots 48 in the guide plates 50 are somewhat irregular in shape. The slots 48 form something of an arcuate pattern. The guide plates 50 and guide pins 46 form a portion of a means for guiding the hammer to bend the band 12 and clinch the bent band 12 to the buckle 10 as will be explained more fully later. The hammer 44 will have the approximate motion of the shape of the slots 48; however, the exact motion will be slightly different due to the fact that the opposite end of the hammer is connected to the wrist pin 40 which has a circular motion.

Buckle trough 52 is attached to anvil plate 14 at an angle thereto. The buckle trough 52 has a portion which extends to the work area 64. The work area 64 is defined asthat area between the guide plates 50 above the anvil plate 14 and buckle trough 52 where the hammer 44 bends the band 12. The buckle trough has another portion which is below chute 54. The chute extends upward at an angle and contains buckles 10 before the bands 12 are bent to them. Bifurcated loading gate 56 is attached through handle 58 to feed bar60 (FIGS. 2, 3, 5, 6, and 7). The-feed bar is mounted in suitable bearings for reciprocation on the bottom of the anvil plate 14, Tension feed spring 62 biases the feed bar to the right as seen in the drawings. The loading gate 56 has slightly less thickness than a buckle 10. When the loading gate 56 is reciprocated away from the work area 62 it is removed from .the area below chute54. Therefore, a buckle 10 falls onto the buckle trough 52. When the feed spring 64 moves the bar 60 and thus the loading gate 56 in the opposite direction, the loading gate feeds the lowest buckle 10 to the work area 64.

Bell crank 66 is mounted for oscillation about a vertical bell crank shaft 68 which depends from the bottom of the anvil plate 14 (FIGS. 4-7). Connecting rod 70 (adjustable in length) interconnects the bell crank 66 and' con necting crank arm 28 so that as the shaft 20 is oscillated, it results in an oscillation of the bell crank 66. As the power shaft 20 was described as having a power stroke and a return stroke, likewise, the bell crank 66 will have a corresponding power stroke and return stroke.

, Notched floating rod 72 is pivoted to one end of bell crank 66 by pin 74 (FIGS. 5-7). On the opposite end from pin 74, the floating notched rod 72 has cam surface 76. Notch 78 is in the floating rod 72 adjacent to cam surface 76. Cam operator 80 (omitted in FIG. 3 for clarity) is attached to one of the bearings within which feed bar60 reciprocates on the bottom of the anvil plate 14. Feed pin 82'depends from feed bar 60. Floating 3 spring 84 extends from the floating rod 72 to the anvil plate 14 to bias the floating rod 72 against the feed pin 82 and the cam operator 80.

FIG. shows the machine in the starting or relaxed position with the floating spring 84 biasing the floating rod '72 against the feed pin 82. During the power stroke the floating rod is moved to the right as seen in the drawings. At or near the end of the power stroke, the notch 78 moves by feed pin 82 and the floating spring 84 pulls the floating bar into a position so that notch 78 engages the pin 82 upon the return stroke. Upon the return stroke (FIG. 7) as the floating rod 72 is moved to the left, it engages the feed pin 82 and moves the feed bar 60 to the left as seen in the drawings. This leftward movement continues through the return stroke until near the end of the return stroke cam surface 76 engages cam operator 80 to move the floating rod 72 away from the feed pin 82. When the notch 78 is disengaged from the feed pin 82 by the cam operator 80 the feed spring 62 returns the feed bar to the right position as seen in FIG. 5.

Thus, it may be seen that there is no movement of fork 56 during the power stroke. During the majority of the return stroke, the fork 56 moves away from the work area 64 allowing another buckle to fall into the buckle trough 52. Near the completion of the return stroke the fork 56 is moved by feed spring 62 to feed the lowest buckle 10 to the work area 64.

Pin plate 86 is pivoted to the bottom of the anvil plate 14 by pin plate bearings 88 so that the pin plate is pivoted about an axis which is parallel to the anvil plate 14 and parallel to the horizontal power shaft (FIG. 3). Bolt 90 is threaded into the bottom of the anvil plate 14 and extends through a hole in the pin plate 86. First pin plate compression spring 92 extends from the head of the bolt 90 to the bottom of the pin plate 86. Second pin 1 plate compression spring 94 surrounds the bolt 90 and extends from the top of the pin plate 86 to the bottom of the anvil plate 14. The two springs 92 and 94 are adjusted so that pins 96 attached to the top of the pin plate 86 extend through holes 98 in the anvil 14. Pin plate cam The position with the pin cam operator 108 pushing the pin plate cam 100 upward during the power stroke as shown in FIG. 6. At the end of the power stroke the pin cam operator 108 moves'by the pin plate cam 100. On the return stroke, the pin cam operator 108 rides against inclined surface 112 (FIG, 3) on the top of the pin plate cam 100 to retract the pins 96 below the surface of the anvil plate 14. The retracted position is shown in FIG. 7. The pins hold the buckle under the hammer while the band is being bent and releases it on the return stroke.

The holes 98 and the pins 96 extend through the anvil plate 14 and parallel to the buckle trough 52 at the opposite side of the work area 64 from the hammer 44. Guide 114 is bolted to the top of the anvil plate so that it is approximately aligned with one of the guide plates 50.

Operation In operating the machine, the operator first places a number of buckles 10 in the'chute 54. By manual operation of the handle 58, the loading' gate 56 is moved away from the work area 64 and the handle 58 released thus feeding a buckle 10 to the work area 64. Then a band 12 is manually inserted through the desired slot in the buckle 10. When the air valve 36 is manually opened, the power cylinder causes the power shaft 20 to rotate through the power stroke. The rotation of the power shaft causes the hammer 44 to be moved forward according to the slots 48 in the guide plates 50. The band 12 is bent with the forward movement of the hammer. Also, as the band is bent, the buckle will be moved forward in the work area 64 to the pins 96 which have been moved to the raised position by the movement of the pin cam operator 108 as it moved in the power position. Continued movement of the hammer 44 moves to the finishing position at which time the band 12 is clinched to the buckle 10. When the band is clinched, the valve 36 is closed manually.

When the valve 36 is closed, it automatically exhausts the air from the power cylinder 30 and the return springs 38 causes the mechanism to go through the return stroke. During the return stroke the pins 96 will move down below the surface of the anvil plate 14. At this time, the operator by exerting a constant manual tension upon the band 12, will remove the banded buckle 10 from the work area 64. As the mechanism continues in the return stroke, the loading gate 56 is moved away from the work area and another buckle 10 fed to the work area as in the initial manual operation. When a new buckle 10 is in the work area, a band 12 is fed through the slot and the cycle repeated from this point unitil the desired number of buckles 10 are banded.

It will be apparent that the embodiment shown is only exemplary and that various modifications can be made in construction, materials, and arrangement within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A machine for banding buckles comprising:

(a) an anvil plate,

(b) a hammer,

(0) guide means attached to the anvil plate for guiding the hammer to bend a band and clinch the bent band to a buckle,

(d) power means interconnecting the anvil plate and hammer for moving the hammer through a power stroke to bend and clinch the band,

(e) return spring means interconnecting the anvil plate and hammer for moving the hammer through a return stroke,

(f) at least one pin extending through a hole in the anvil plate,

(g) means attached to the pin responsive to movement of the hammer through the power stroke for extending the pin upward through the anvil plate to a buckle holding position,

(h) said means attached to the pin responsive to movement of the hammer through the return stroke for withdrawing the pin downward to a buckle release position,

(i) a chute attached to the anvil plate for holding buckles to be banded, and

(j) feed means attached to the anvil plate responsive to movement of the hammer through the return stroke for feeding buckles from the chute to the anvil plate adjacent the hammer.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 wherein said guide means includes:

(k) two slotted guide plates attached to the anvil plate,

(1) each of said plates having an irregular shaped slot therein,

(m) said hammer having a guide pin extending on each side thereof,

(11) each of said guide pins engaged in one of said slots so that the movement of the hammer is approximately that of the slots.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1 with the addition of:

(k) two side plates attached to the anvil plate,

(1) a shaft journalled between the side plates,

(m) three crank arms connected to said shaft,

(n) said hammer and said spring means connected to one of said crank arms,

(0) a source of power connected to a second of said crank arms, thus forming a portion of said power means,

(p) a bell crank mounted for oscillation to the bottom of the anvil plate,

(q) said bell crank connected to said pin and said feed means, and

(r) a connecting rod connecting a third of said crank arms to said bell crank.

4. The invention as defined in claim 3 wherein said feed means attached to the anvil plate includes:

(s) a bar mounted for reciprocation on the bottom of the anvil plate,

(t) a loading gate attached to the bar mounted at the bottom of said chute so that reciprocation of the loading gate feeds buckles from the chute to the anvil plate adjacent the hammer,

(u) a feed spring interconnecting the feed bar and one of said side plates for biasing the feed bar in one direction,

(v) a feed pin on the feed bar,

(W) a floating notched rod pivoted to said bell crank,

(x) a floating spring connected to said floating notched rod biasing it against said feed pin on the feed bar, and

(y) a cam operator located 'on the bottom of the anvil plate, and

(2) said floating spring biasing said floating notched rod against said pin and cam operator so that oscillalation of the bell crank causes a notch in said floating notched rod to engage said pin and push the feed bar against the feed spring bias to move the feed bar in a direction opposite the bias of said feed spring until said floating notched rod engaged said cam operator to disengage said notch fro-m said feed pin. 5. The invention as defined in claim 3 wherein the connection between the bell crank and said pin is as follows:

(s) a pin plate pivoted to the anvil plate about an axis which is parallel to the anvil plate and parallel to said shaft,

(t) said pin connected to said pin plate,

(u) spring means interconnecting said pin plate and said anvil plate for biasing the pin plate in the position wherein said pin extends slightly above the surface of the anvil plate,

(v) a pin plate cam located on the side of the pin plate,

(w) a pin bar mounted for reciprocation on the bottom of the anvil plate,

(x) means interconnecting the pin bar and bell crank for reciprocating the pin bar responsive to oscillation of the bell crank, and

(y) a pin cam operator on the pin bar engaged with the pin plate cam for moving the pin upward into buckle holding position and downwward to buckle release position.

6. The invention as defined in claim 5 wherein there are two pins attached to said pin plate, each of said pins 5 extending through a hole in the anvil plate.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,845,108 7/1958 Hammell et .al. 29203 X 2,972,747 2/ 1961 Kelem 29-211 2,982,3 29 5/ 1961 Batcheller 29203 X WHITMORE A. WILTZ, Primary Examiner. 

1. A MACHINE FOR BANDING BUCKLES COMPRISING: (A) AN ANVIL PLATE, (B) A HAMMER, (C) GUIDE MEANS ATTACHED TO THE ANVIL PLATE FOR GUIDING THE HAMMER TO BEND A BAND AND CLINCH THE BENT BAND TO A BUCKLE, (D) POWER MEANS INTERCONNECTING THE ANVIL PLATE AND HAMMER FOR MOVING THE HAMMER THROUGH A POWER STROKE TO BEND AND CLINCH THE BAND, (E) RETURN SPRING MEANS INTERCONNECTING THE ANVIL PLATE AND HAMMER FOR MOVING THE HAMMER THROUGH A RETURN STROKE, (F) AT LEAST ONE PIN EXTENDING THROUGH A HOLE IN THE ANVIL PLATE, (G) MEANS ATTACHED TO THE PIN RESPONSIVE TO MOVEMENT OF THE HAMMER THROUGH THE POWER STROKE FOR EXTENDING THE PIN UPWARD THROUGH THE ANVIL PLATE TO A BUCKLE HOLDING POSITION, (H) SAID MEANS ATTACHED TO THE PIN RESPONSIVE TO MOVEMENT OF THE HAMMER THROUGH THE RETURN STROKE FOR WITHDRAWING THE PIN DOWNWARD TO A BUCKLE RELEASE POSITION, (I) A CHUTE ATTACHED TO THE ANVIL PLATE FOR HOLDING BUCKLES TO BE BANDED, AND (J) FEED MEANS ATTACHED TO THE ANVIL PLATE RESPONSIVE TO MOVEMENT OF THE HAMMER THROUGH THE RETURN STROKE FOR FEEDING BUCKLES FROM THE CHUTE TO THE ANVIL PLATE ADJACENT THE HAMMER. 